King of the Forest
by Takara Phoenix
Summary: Fantasy AU - Nico is a deer-shifter and king of a great forest. After a fire, he relocates his herd and on the way, he encounters a feisty submissive and saves him. Percy does not approve of being saved. After the rocky start, will traveling together bring them closer...? deer!Nico/deer!Percy slash Nicercy
PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || King of the Forest || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: King of the Forest – In Search for his Queen

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; fantasy AU

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, mating, magic/shapeshifters, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, rimming, knotting, mpreg, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Luke/Octavian, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Jason/Reyna, Jake/Will, Charles/Silena, Chris/Clarisse

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Cecil Rogers, Lou Ellen, Will Solace, Jake Mason, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Chris Rodriguez, Clarisse la Rue, Luke Castellan, Octavian Simmons, Thalia Grace, Annabeth Chase

Own Characters: Bianca Maria di Angelo, Hades Poseidon di Angelo, Sedanur Aykan

Summary: Nico is a deer-shifter and he is the new ruler of his forest after his big sister and a large part of their herd die in a fire. He and his remaining herd-members leave to track down all stray deers of the forest. Percy, a submissive male deer-shifter, is just looking for a place called home and after many misadventures, he runs into Nico and his herd. He's just passing through, or so he assures them. They agree to travel together for a while, out of convenience, because there was safety in numbers. Convenience turns into friendship and all too soon into courtship.

This was a birthday request from **I love you - Flower**. Happy birthday and I hope it turned out the way you wanted it! ^o^

 **King of the Forest**

 _In Search for his Queen_

Nico was the king of the forest. He was a tall and proud stag, his fur black as the night and his antlers silver and mighty. He wasn't supposed to be the king of the forest though. He was too young, too inexperienced. Yet his father had passed away and his older sister had been in a terrible forest fire. Many of their herd had been lost. The main herd, the herd around their mighty King Hades and then his successor Queen Bianca. Aside from Nico, only three others remained. The friends who had helped him fight off the hunters. Will, Cecil and Lou. The beautiful meadow they called home was gone, only brown earth and crispy plants remained where once was so much beauty.

"There's... nothing left for us", whispered Lou mournfully, looking around.

"What are we supposed to do now?", asked Cecil and turned to look at Nico questioningly.

"Why are you looking at me?", grunted Nico uncomfortably, shifting.

"You're the king now", stated Will casually, raising one eyebrow. "And even though we may only be a small herd at the moment, you are still our leader. What are we doing next?"

Nico frowned doubtfully, eyes unfocused. "There's a small herd at the farthest end of the forest. My younger half-sister Hazel, she lives there with friends. I guess it's time to round up the scattered sub-herds of my forest and find a place to settle down together. Unite the Great Undergrove Forest to its former glory once again. What my father had always dreamed of."

"A good plan, my king", smiled Will and nudged Nico fondly.

/break\

For many days, the four young shifters traveled alone. The Great Undergrove Forest was the greatest magical forest known to mankind – or rather, not known to mankind. Throughout history, it was probably best known as the Enchanted Forest, the place of magic. Where shapeshifters, fairies, dragons and dwarves lived. In the old days, it used to be inhabited by humans too. Princes and princesses, heroes and peasants. Yet humans stopped believing in magic long ago.

Nowadays, humans only trespassed into the Great Undergrove Forest to try and destroy it, as they did with every other forest too. To hunt and salvage. Magic was scattered too. Once upon a time, there was one strong herd, nowadays there were scattered smaller herds in the farthest outreaches of the forest. Nico had heard stories that some magical creatures had been chased out of the forest, living in different parts of the world these days. Nico couldn't imagine that. Living away from the magical community. They relied on the fairies and dwarves, on the nymphs in the ponds and rivers. Having to live in a non-magical world must be incredibly difficult and even though their task at hand and the tragedy Nico and his friends had suffered, he was still glad they had their forest.

His forest. He was now the king, at least to his own kind. Every race had its own structure, after all.

"So. You think there's gonna be some cute does in your sister's herd?", asked Cecil casually.

"Hopefully so", hummed Nico thoughtful as they were resting at a river.

"Yeah, our king here still needs a queen, after all", snickered Lou and nudged Nico.

Nico heaved a sigh and returned his attention back to grooming his silken fur. He was not exactly interested in finding a mate. Not yet anyway. He was more interested in finding a herd. He knew that Hazel and some others were living farther off, perhaps they had a good place to start over? Nico was looking for a place that would be safe for them, that would be a good home for his new herd. He could still worry about a mate later on, once they were settled down. His father had been preaching to him about it from a young age, that as a prince, he had to find the finest doe there was. He had always brushed that off, thinking his older sister was still there to take over as queen, after all. Now both of them were gone and he was all alone and mate-less too.

/break\

It was a few days later that their group of four grew to a group of six. They ran into two orphaned deers, two brothers. The older, dominant stag Jake and his younger, submissive and very hyperactive brother Leo. The two were ecstatic to finally be part of a herd again. They had lost their parents to hunters when they both had been small and even though they had been wandering the Great Undergrove Forest for years, they had never encountered another herd. Most likely since the small divided herds had rather clear territories. Leo was submissive, just like Will, which gave the two of them a special way of bonding. Though Will had quite the hard time controlling the hyperactive ball of energy known as Leo, he still grew very fond of the younger shifter. And Nico enjoyed watching the two of them. There was a special kind of tenderness that only a submissive could provide and since the death of his own mother, Nico hadn't quite experienced it. Not like this. Sure, he had been friends with Will before – one of many in the herd. But now that they were such a small herd, such a small family really, their dynamics shifted and they all grew closer, taking more care of each other. Where they normally just played and explored the forest together, they now had to provide for each other, find shelter, tend to each other's wounds. And seeing the way Will and Leo handled those things did stir something in Nico. It made him long for a submissive of his own, especially when Jake started awkwardly courting Will – drawn in not just by Will's beauty and personality but also the way Will took care of Jake's little brother. It was heartwarming.

Nico wanted a submissive of his own. He wanted what Jake and Will were so carefully forming at the moment. It was so delicate at the moment and so fresh and precious. Nico wanted that too. He wanted his own submissive to cherish, protect and love. A queen at his side.

Among shifters, there were four kind – dominant males, dominant females, submissive males and submissive females. Dominant males, such as Nico or Jake, were regular-looking male stags with broad, large antlers, while submissive females looked like a standard doe. Dominant females however were females with antlers; smaller than a male's, but still there and strong as a sign of their dominance. And submissive stags had thinner antlers, more filigree and adored by beautiful gems unlike a dominant's antlers. It was why submissive stags were actually rather rare, because humans had hunted them down for their valuable antlers for centuries. It had taken centuries to repopulate and Hades had always been very proud and cherished Will. Nico's father had once suggested Will as a mate for Nico, though there was no way that would ever work. Will was very much like Bianca; he was like the nagging big sister and there would never be romantic feelings between the two best friends. Once Hades came to accept that, he had started pushing Nico into going on a journey through the forest to find a submissive in another corner of the forest. Yet Nico had always put it off, not wishing to saunter around as the crown prince and have everyone bow and present their submissive off-springs to him. The thought disturbed him, actually. He didn't want to pick one after having them offered to him like it was an auction. He wanted to meet the perfect submissive and then he wanted to be a dashing hero to his doe and they'd instantly fall in love because the pretty doe would be impressed by Nico's heroics and they'd be mated happily ever after.

"Can... we talk, my king?"

Nico looked up from the arrow he was sharpening to see Jake. The dark-brown stag was actually also a rather handsome human. Tall and broad, with quite some strong muscles. Jake ruffled his hair embarrassed and looked at Nico reluctantly. Nico raised one eyebrow and nodded intrigued.

"Sure. What about? And where are the others?", inquired Nico.

"Will is making dinner and Leo, Cecil and Lou are playing hide and seek. When I question whether or not they're too old for that, they responded maturely by sticking their tongues out at me and running off", replied Jake and rolled his eyes. "I guess Leo is really glad to finally have others around his own age. Well, I guess he's just glad we have others around in general."

"Most likely", agreed Nico vaguely, raising one eyebrow. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Will", answered Jake and ducked his head a little. "It's just... He doesn't have family anymore, no parents... so... as the leader of his herd, you're kind of like the dominant responsible for him and I... want to do this the most proper way we can. I want to ask your permission in our mating."

Nico looked a little startled at that and blinked a couple times. "For both our sakes, I'm not gonna answer that. I know it's been a while since you and your family were part of an actual herd, but it's rather out of fashion to ask permission. Submissives have the right to chose their own mates. And Will would so tear both our balls off if he'd hear you asking my permission and me giving it."

"...Yeah, he would", agreed Jake after a thoughtful moment and grinned. "He got... fire."

"Yeah, he does", confirmed Nico amused, before turning serious. "And you better treat him right."

"O—Of course I will, my king", huffed Jake, looking borderline offended.

"Good", chuckled Nico, patting Jake's back. "Good."

"Jake, Nico! Are you coming for dinner? Because Will says otherwise you won't get any!", called Leo out as he approached them while waving his arms widely. "And he looks very serious!"

Jake and Nico laughed a bit amused as they both stood to follow Jake's little brother.

/break\

Percy Jackson was Bambi.

Well, that was what he liked to think. It was a bit more complicated than that, of course. He used to live with his human mother in New York and when he turned sixteen, he suddenly turned into a blue-furred deer with silver antlers adored with sapphires and aquamarines. He had freaked out and his mother had freaked out. They packed up and left New York after his mother revealed that his father was some kind of nature spirit – a deer-shifter. Percy and Sally toured all near-by national parks and nature reservoirs on their search for his father. They found Poseidon and for a couple of months, things were good. Poseidon taught Percy about who and what he was, Sally and Poseidon were rekindling what had only been a winter romance.

And then, just when Percy's life seemed to be good after all, it all went downhill. Camper sat Percy and Poseidon and freaked out. They called the two deers names, demons and monsters. Of course they had rifles. They were Americans and they were even in the woods. They hunted Percy and Poseidon down and Sally, she heard the commotion and came from their little cabin in the woods. She tried to shield Percy and she saved his life. At the cost of her own. His father had already fallen prey to the vicious humans and Percy? All he could do was run.

He hadn't stopped ever since.

He just kept aimlessly running around. Looking for the perfect place to stop running. A home. A herd. A new family. He was a submissive shifter, his father had, in a very awkward conversation, explained all about this and their race to him. Now he was looking for others like them, a place to belong. His father had said that he had been living a lonely life for too long and initially the plan had been for Poseidon to go and look for a herd for Percy so Percy could get to know others like them. So Percy could find a mate. But for now, the family just wanted to stay together. And they stayed together, until it was too late to find a herd together. Now Percy was on his own, searching.

His father had told him tales of a forest, the Enchanted Forest, where magic was everywhere and hundreds of their kind lived, together with fairies and other magical creatures. Percy was looking for that forest now, a forest where he could belong and find a herd and maybe even a mate. The more time had passed since he had come into his heritage, the more he settled into this. And over the years, he had developed a kind of longing. Deep down, he knew it was the longing for a mate. He hoped he would find that in the Enchanted Forest. A herd, a wonderful, strong, dominant mate, a home. The Enchanted Forest, according to his father, would have that for sure. There was a king, a good and kind king named Hades, there and Poseidon had promised that King Hades would have a place for Percy. Now that he had lost his family, he needed to find that forest. He _needed_ it.

The journey was hard and painful. He had stumbled from one danger into the other, all on his own. He nearly got run over by cars on multiple occasions, chased by two or maybe even three hunters and right now, he was staring down a hungry wolf who thought Percy would make a good dinner. Ironic, considering that all Percy wanted was to eat dinner himself. His fingers clawed into the wet ground on which he was sitting and scrambling away from the mighty beast. Okay. Situation didn't look too good, but he was so going to get out this. He always did, he always worked it out.

And then, before Percy could do anything, a pitch-black stag trampled up to them and hit the wolf full-force with his mighty silver antlers. Percy blinked slowly as he watched the huge stag fighting off the wolf and trampling Percy's carefully picked dinner during the process. As the wolf turned and ran with his tail between his legs, the stag turned into a rather handsome man with black curls and olive-skin covered, taunt muscles. A smaller version of his silver antlers pointed out between his curls, looking more like a crown in this form. The black fur had turned into a kind of toga wrapped around the man's body, held together by silvery jewelry that resembled his antlers. It was a pretty common thing; losing the fur meant being unable to turn back. Their fur was valuable, sadly enough also to humans but most of all to themselves. The man's nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and zoomed in on Percy with an overly confident smirk. Oh, Percy had encountered other shifters before, after all he has come a long way by now. And dominant shifters were arrogant asses. It was why he was still on the search for a place to call home, because those jerks thought they could sweep a submissive off their feet with something mundane, like submissives were too dumb to get anything done on their own. The dominant came to stand in front of Percy, offering his hand.

"Hello, precious", greeted the stranger, still smirking. "You were lucky I was passing through."

"Lucky?", echoed Percy in utter disbelieve, slapping the hand out of his way and standing. "Really?

Yeah, no. I would have handled that on my own and _without_ ruining my dinner. Thank you so much that you saved my poor, useless little butt at the cost of my dinner. Whatever would I have done without you, oh great, heroic dominant?" The dominant stared a little dumbly at Percy as Percy rolled his eyes and pointed at where his dinner used to be. "I was perfectly fine on my own. I can handle myself. What? Just because I'm submissive, I must need the help of a great, big dominant to save my poor, defenseless little self? Well, screw you. I spend hours searching for those strawberries! You have any idea how hard it is to find strawberries this time of the year?"

The stranger just gaped like a fish, opening and closing his mouth a couple times before scolding and crossing his arms over his chest. "Sorry. The next time a wolf is jumping you, I'll just continue on my way. You probably would have chased it away with your attitude."

Before Percy could open his mouth to reply, another guy came out from behind a tree, this one with smaller and finer antlers adored with rubies and other red gems. "No need to fight. You could eat with us, you know? Nico didn't mean to crush yours and he's sorry, really. I'm Leo."

Percy frowned curiously. He had traveled a lot and encountered many different herds – many overly old-fashioned, some pretty modern, others living like regular humans while a couple were actually only living as deers – but among them all, he had never encountered another male submissive. So that dominant – Nico – was an idiot, but there was a male submissive. The chance to finally talk to someone who was like him and to get food after his own had been stomped...

"Okay", agreed Percy after a beat. "I'm Percy. Nice to meet you."

/break\

Nico spend dinner glaring down at his food while listening to Percy, Will and Leo bond, chatter and laugh. Cecil and Lou too were all over the ungrateful submissive. Nico just gritted his teeth. Really now. He knew that submissives weren't helpless, he had seen Will kick ass on his own. But there had been a freaking wolf looming over that submissive! What was Nico supposed to do? Turn his back! It wasn't that he had expected the submissive to fall right into his arms and swoon in gratitude – okay, he had _wished_ for that outcome, but he had not _expected_ it – but that stubborn attitude? Really?! Was it asking too much to get a thank you for saving the brat's life?!

"So, what are you doing around here?", asked Jake casually after a little while. "All alone?"

Percy glared dangerously. "Why? Because a submissive can't be on his own?"

Jake whined a little under the glare and hid behind Will, who offered his mate a grin. "Jake didn't mean it like that. More because we deers are herd animals. So, where's your herd?"

"Oh", grunted Percy a little embarrassed and ducked his head. "Sorry. Yeah, well... I don't have a herd. Grew up among humans. I'm... looking for a place though. Say, where am I anyway?"

"This is the Great Undergrove Forest and this right here before you is our king!", exclaimed Cecil excitedly, pointing at Nico with a broad grin. "No kneeling necessary though."

"...I wasn't planning on dropping on my knees, no worries", snarked Percy.

"Yeah. You're far too emancipated to ever drop on your knees in front of any dominant. I get it", grunted Nico and rolled his eyes annoyed. "Tune it down some. Seriously."

"Oh, your highness must be so used to having herds of submissives kissing your feet", countered Percy. "You probably got a check-list saying 'save a submissive on a daily base' at the top."

"He does have a slight hero-complex, willing to risk his own life for others", agreed Will thoughtful and nodded. "Though he really does mean well, you know?"

"Right. Well, whatever. I've been traveling on my own for years and I don't need a knight in shining armor", clarified Percy, looking at them all. "I appreciate the dinner, but I should get going."

Leo made a keening sound and looked at Will for help, who in return exchanged a couple of looks with Jake, Cecil and Lou, before all of them as a collective turned to Nico. The king winced and made a face. He knew what that look meant. They wanted to keep the loner around. Nico frowned annoyed and looked Percy up and down. So the submissive was very beautiful and he smelt amazing, but damn, that kid had an attitude and was way too stubborn and thick-headed. Then again, that reckless stubbornness was probably going to get the brat killed sooner or later and Nico would be a shoddy king if he'd abandon a submissive in need, regardless of how bend said submissive was that he was not in need of anything or anyone.

"You could travel with us. At least for a while", offered Nico reluctantly.

"I'm doing really fine on my own", huffed Percy annoyed.

"Yes, yes, I believe you", sighed Nico and lifted his hands up in surrender. "But since you're passing through _my_ forest, why don't we all just go together? We were planning on heading to the other side anyway, to look for my sister and see on the way there if we find a good spot to return to. You can leave my forest on the other end and continue on your way to wherever you're going."

"Yes! Please, please, please?", requested Leo with large, begging eyes. "You're kinda awesome and the more the merrier, right? And aside from Will, I never met another submissive before!"

Percy hesitated and looked from one herd-member to the next until he settled on Nico. "Well, I guess, there is a certain... safety in numbers. It'd be nice to sleep through a night without being forced to keep one eye open for predators. Fine, I'll travel with you guys for a while."

"How very gracious of you", drawled Nico with a deadpan.

"Yes, I'm ever so generous", agreed Percy, arms crossed.

/break\

In Nico's mind, he referred to Percy as 'that sassy submissive'. And if said snark wasn't aimed at Nico, it was actually rather entertaining. True to Percy's words, the submissive really could stand his own man. Just the other day, Percy had protected Cecil and Lou from a wayward dragon. At least until Leo pulled the splinter from the dragon's foot, named it Festus and cuddled with it.

Percy was also the most beautiful doe Nico had ever seen. He had blue fur – never before had Nico encountered a deer with blue fur before – and rich sapphires adoring his antlers. Whether it was in human-form or in deer-form, Percy was utterly breathtaking.

"Hey. Need help with that?"

Nico looked up from the two bunnies he was currently gutting to see Percy approaching. "Sure?"

Percy shrugged and plunged down next to Nico. "Not my first time. My dad taught me how to hunt, in both forms that is. Though it kinda freaked me out that we eat flesh... I mean, we're deers?"

"Well, we don't when we're in deer-form", countered Nico. "And we're not really actual deers anyway. We're not prey-animals, we're magical predators. You got a knife?"

Percy nodded slowly, getting a knife out of his fur's pocket. "My dad's. Hand one over."

Nico observed Percy for a moment in silence, the other's precise moves and unflinching way. "You don't talk a lot about yourself, you know. Where... What happened to your parents? To you?"

"My parents were killed by crazy humans, who thought my dad and I are some kind of demon abominations", replied Percy shortly, glaring down at the bunny. "What about yours? You're pretty young to be a king, so I'm guessing dad didn't hand over the crown willingly."

"Died. Long ago. My mother died during my birth and my father was killed in a great fire. It's why we're traveling. The part of the forest that we called home burned down and wasn't habitable anymore, so we were forced to move on", answered Nico. "My sister also died in the fire..."

"...I'm sorry", whispered Percy softly before pausing. "Listen, I... I wanted to apologize to you."

"What?", asked Nico stunned, staring at Percy surprised.

"Screw you", huffed Percy and rolled his eyes. "I meant for how I barked at you when we first met. The last two herds I ran into were very old-fashioned and thought that us submissives can't do anything aside from cook, breed and look pretty, so you swooping in to my rescue rubbed me the wrong way. Now that I know you a bit better, I know that you're not that kind of dominant. You care about your herd a lot and you respect Will and Leo the same as the others. So, I'm sorry."

Nico cracked a small smile and nodded. "It's alright. I get it. There are still many herds who think that submissives should be sheltered and all. If you ran into a couple of those, I get why you reacted the way you did. Though let me repeat that I would have acted the same way if you were a dominant. You looked like you were in a pinch, so I wanted to help."

Percy nodded and grinned a bit in return. Nico liked the way Percy's eyes sparkled with mischief when he grinned. Frowning, Nico returned his attention back to the bunny in front of him. He really shouldn't be thinking such thoughts about the stubborn submissive. Percy wasn't here to stay.

/break\

Percy was growing attached and he was growing attached far too fast and hard. Leo was awesome, like the little brother he had always wanted. Cecil and Lou were amazingly mischievous. Will was such a sweet mother-hen and him and Jake were such a cute couple. And then there was Nico. Percy was actually a little embarrassed at how attracted he felt to Nico after only a week.

But it was hard for Percy. Ever since he had started his little journey on his own, the longing had intensified. In the end, there was some truth to things. Submissives weren't made to be on their own. They, more than anyone else, were herd-animals. They needed someone to tend to and take care of. And after all the months alone, watching his own back, he was yearning to have someone to protect him. Not because he needed it, but because it would be nice to just relax and still know he was perfectly safe. And Nico was strong. And protective. And handsome. And he cared a great deal about his herd, he was protecting them so well. It wasn't hard to picture how protective Nico would be of his own submissive. The thought made Percy blush involuntarily.

"I knew something smelt suspiciously sweet. Hello there, fellow unmated submissive."

Percy jumped a little and turned to look at the source of the voice. At the top of the cliff ahead of him sat a cheekily grinning blonde with a scar running down his face. Percy ducked a little deeper in the water he was soaking in, a bit embarrassed. The blonde just grinned broader. What was it with this forest? His father had told him that submissive males were rare, yet there next to the small waterfall sat another submissive male shifter.

"It's rude to spy on people while they're taking a bath!", called Percy up in annoyance.

"Spying?! Percy, are you alright?", exclaimed another voice all of a sudden.

Percy groaned, his embarrassment reaching a new high as Nico rounded the corner. So Nico understood that Percy could handle himself, but if possible, Nico still preferred to make sure himself that his herd was safe. Even though Percy wasn't part of his herd.

"Oh. Someone got a protective suitor", teased the blonde above in amusement.

Nico glared up at him. "Who are you? What are you doing here with Percy?"

"Percy, huh?", repeated the blonde, nodding into Percy's direction. "Well then, nice to meet you, Percy. My name is Luke and you guys are in my territory."

"That would be a bit hard considering I'm the king of this forest", countered Nico stoically.

Percy all the while got out of the water and decidedly ignored Nico's very hungry eyes on him. Of course Nico was drawn to him; Percy was unmated and his scent was meant to lure in unmated dominants such as Nico. Grabbing his fur and fastening it around his body, he turned back to face Luke, who all the while was making his way down the cliff.

"Highly unlikely", chimed Luke good-natured. "You're way too young to be King Hades. And as far as I know, Bianca is next in line. She's a good friend of a herd-member of mine. And she's a girl. You don't really look like a girl either. So, I guess, you're lying, honey."

Luke came to stand in front of Nico, smirking down at the other with amusement to which Nico just shook his head. "My father and sister are... gone. There was a fire. I'm Nico. Bianca's brother."

The smirk slipped away from Luke's face. "Oh. I'm... sorry to hear that. Yeah, I've heard of you too. Thalia told me about you too. Well then, your highness, would you and your traveling companion care to join my herd for dinner? You can stay the night in our cave."

"We'd love to", replied Nico with schooled features.

Percy all the while was staring at Nico a bit dumbly. Nico's father's name was Hades? King Hades? The King Hades that Poseidon had told him about? But this forest's name, it wasn't the Enchanted Forest Percy had been looking for. And meeting the king named Nico, Percy hadn't even asked any further. Yet if King Hades had passed recently and Nico had taken over... Was this it? Was this forest the destination he has had all along? Percy's heart jumped into his throat at the thought of staying in this forest – in Nico's forest – together with the herd he had gotten attached to.

/break\

Nico was glowering throughout dinner. He did not like how those strangers were fawning over Percy. Over his whole herd, he meant. No, actually, what annoyed him the most was that this blonde guy, Luke, and the blonde girl he was traveling with, Annmarie or whatever, were sitting so close to Percy, laughing with him and talking with him. He was half listening to a conversation between the third stranger, a Thalia, and Will, Cecil and Lou. Apparently, Thalia was the big sister of Jason, who was part of Hazel's herd. They were exchanging stories about Jason.

"What are you looking angry about?", asked Jake curiously as he nudged Nico.

"Nothing", grunted Nico, eyes fixed on the casual hand Annabelle had on Percy's leg.

Jake raised one eyebrow as he followed Nico's line of sight. "You sure about that?"

Nico wanted to confirm, but then Luke said something apparently hilarious because Annaliese and Percy practically collapsed against each other and Nico accidentally broke the wooden fork in his hand. Jake grunted amused and tilted his head, eyes trained on Percy who was still laughing with Annkathrin. Nico decidedly ignored Jake's amusement, but it was as effective as ignoring Percy and Annsophie proved to be. The glare on Nico's face darkened some more and all of a sudden, Will took a seat on Jake's lap, arms around his mate, but attention on Nico.

"We talked to Thalia. We agreed we should travel together. She hasn't seen Jason since he was a little fawn, she had no idea he was still in the Great Undergrove Forest, so since we're heading to where he lives, she asked if her and her herd can come with us", stated Will. "That okay?"

"Well, apparently you already 'agreed', so there's not much I have to say, huh?", huffed Nico.

"Who spit into your dinner?", asked Will with a frown. "You're grumpier than normal."

"Nico doesn't like that blonde dominant being so friendly with Percy", chimed Jake.

"...Annabeth?", asked Will confused, tilting his head. "It's easy to talk to Percy. That's why all of us bonded with him so fast when he first joined our herd. You should be glad he's so easily bonding with others, since we're gonna meet up with your sister's herd soon enough and who knows, all those formed bonds may sway him to stay with us for good. Besides, it's good he's getting along with others and not butting heads. That'd be quite the annoyance."

"No, babe", laughed Jake and buried his face in Will's neck. "You don't get it. He doesn't like that there's some dominant chatting up Percy. Because it's Percy. And a dominant."

It took Will a moment and then his eyes widened in stunned realization. "Oh my spirits, after all these years you finally... you finally chose a mate! You want Percy?!"

"Sh!", hissed Nico with a vicious glare. "Scream around some louder, why don't you?!"

Will looked around a little bewildered, not that anyone was paying any attention to them. "W—Why haven't you told Percy yet? Why haven't you started courting him yet? He's unbound, you're unbound. He's a cute submissive, you're a handsome dominant. Both of you are around the same age. You're the strong, mighty king of a freaking forest! Conditions are perfect!"

"You're forgetting the part where he's not here to stay but just passing through", argued Nico with an upset frown. "I'm not going to get my heart broken by trying to court Percy, regardless of how appealing and funny and cute and beautiful and amazing he is."

"...You really have it bad, huh?", whispered Will compassionately.

"Imagine how adorable the tiny blue fawns would be...", whispered Nico beneath his breath, his voice dripping with longing. "Tiny, black-blue fawns with tiny, adorable antlers..."

"Yeah, he really has it bad", agreed Jake with a grin.

/break\

Percy was frowning up into the night-sky, watching the stars, with his arms crossed behind his head. He liked watching the night-sky, it was something he used to do with his mom and dad. He had been asking around subtly about Nico and Hades and the Enchanted Forest over the past couple of days since Luke, Annabeth and Thalia had joined their group. Turned out 'Enchanted Forest' was a nickname the Great Undergrove Forest had gained during the middle ages and Hades was indeed Nico's deceased father. So, basically, Percy really had reached his designation. Not that Percy had gathered the courage to admit that aloud just yet. And then there was another matter. Percy had observed that Nico spend a large amount of his time with Will and Jake, which was okay because those two were mated, but then again they were the guardians of Leo, who was an unmated submissive. So, was Nico buttering them up? Because Leo was with them often too, of course he was, he was Jake's baby brother. So, was Nico spending time with Jake and Will because he actually wanted to spend time with Leo, or did he want to ask permission to court Leo?

The thought upset Percy in an irrational way. It made him _aggressive_. The other day, he had lashed out at Leo and actually snarled at the other submissive. On a rational level, he knew that he was being stupid, that he had no right to be jealous to begin with. He also knew _why_ he was behaving that way. A submissive, once they chose a fitted dominant and deemed said dominant worthy of being their mate and potential father of their fawns, they were fiercely possessive and protective of said chosen mate. Many knew about dominants battling for a submissive's attention, but those were more for show, to show off their muscles and strength and flaunt about in front of the submissive. When submissives fought about a dominant however, they were vicious and merciless.

"Whatever did the stars do to earn your wrath?"

Percy blinked slowly and turned around a bit to look at Annabeth. The blonde grinned teasingly at him as she laid down next to Percy. Percy returned the grin weakly. He actually really liked Annabeth. Sure, in the beginning they had clashed a bit, but in the end, Luke had made them butt heads quite literally and told them that their stubbornness made them rather similar. It was nice, because she was so different from Leo, Cecil and Lou, or Will, Jake and Nico.

"Just...", started Percy before looking around and checking that all herd-members who were close by were already asleep. "Hormones, I guess. My inner submissive is acting up. Being irrationally possessive of someone I have no right to be possessive about."

"Your herd-leader", assumed Annabeth and nodded. "What? Don't look so surprised. You were baring your fangs at Luke when he had been talking to Nico earlier."

Percy's face turned strawberry-red and he decidedly stared at the moon. "He's... nice. And handsome. And very strong and very protective. And did I mention handsome?"

Annabeth snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't forget. He's also handsome."

Percy pouted and stuck his tongue out. "It's more than that. He has that dry, witty humor. And the way he can cook up pranks with Lou and Cecil if he wants to. He's so... serious and mature beyond his age. So very, very protective of those he considers herd. It's already kind of an honor to be part of his herd, but... imagining being his mate... how possessive and protective he would be. He'd be such a good and doting dad to little fawns, you know? I could just imagine him sitting down with little fawns at the outskirts of the forest, being all Mufasa on his Pride Lands and all."

"I don't understand that reference, but I can see just how smitten you are", chuckled Annabeth fondly and rolled onto her side to look at him. "So, have you... invited him to court you?"

"How, uhm, how would one... do such a thing?", asked Percy slowly and awkwardly.

"Aw, you're like a young wee little fawn", cooed Luke as he scooted closer to them from where he had still been sitting next to the fire (him and Annabeth being on first shift of the night guard).

"Shut up", huffed Percy and threw a fist full of leafs at Luke.

"Aw, come on, Bambi, let your senior help you", chuckled Luke and sat down with them.

"Why? You're unmated too", pointed Percy out with a frown.

"Yeah, but I grew up with a herd from the beginning", stated Luke casually. "I guess your dad didn't teach you how to invite a dominant to courting because he would have preferred the more common way of finding a mate. A dominant asking the parents to allow that they can court the submissive. The dominant making the first step. But, well, things changed up. We submissives can initiate courting too. It's rather simple, actually. By showing a dominant that we'd be a good match. Making food for them, taking care of the den, making a nest for two, such things."

"...We don't have a den and cooking would mean cooking for everyone at the moment and we don't have the time or room to make nests", pointed Percy out with a displeased look.

"Well, you gotta wait until we reach his sister's herd then, simple", countered Luke with a shrug. "And then you strike. Pick a place for a shared den, prepare a nest, cook a nice meal and then invite him and show him and see how he reacts. Though, come on, there's really no doubt about how he'll react, Percy. The way that guy was shielding you when you and I met? He was ready to tear me apart limb by limb to protect you, even though I'm not exactly what qualifies as danger. And then there's still also the direct route. Walk up to him and tell him 'I want you to court me'."

"Yeah, no. That... sounds too untypical", muttered Percy with a frown. "I mean, I don't want to be a typical submissive with their ducking-head-behavior and stuff, but this...?"

"This is the kind of move one would expect from an unorthodox submissive", offered Luke amused, patting Percy's head. "Look at you and me, we're strong, got our own muscles, can hunt ourselves, are tall – well, I am – and we can sass every dominant in our way into submission."

Percy grinned a little bit. Luke was right, Percy had already sassed Nico into giving in and being two inches with hat and the other day, when the herd had split up to hunt, Percy was the only one returning with food because he knew how to fish, unlike the others who had just been chasing rabbits to no success. Still, just walking up to Nico like that...? The thought made him blush.

/break\

In the end, Hazel's herd was only a two days journey from where they had last camped. Finally, they reached their destination and there were tearful reunions. Percy just stood aside and watched with longing eyes. He had no family left, not even friends and seeing how joyful everyone was, it made him want a family and friends, a herd to worry about him and care for him.

The most tearful reunion was between Nico and his younger sister Hazel. News of the fire had reached even this far-away part of the gigantic forest, yet since there were no deers left where Hades' herd used to live, Hazel had feared the worst. But there had been word that a new king was touring the forest and Hazel had been hopeful that Nico had survived after all.

"I love you so much, Nico, I was so worried", sobbed the dark-skinned girl, hugging Nico tightly.

If she wasn't a dominant and if she wasn't his sister, Percy would be over there, scratching her eyes out. As it was, he was clenching his fists and trying to take deep, calming breaths. Nico smiled fondly at her, cupping her cheeks and looking at her like all the proud, loving brother.

"I missed you, Haze", smiled Nico and kissed her forehead. "I missed you very much, sister."

And then there was Hazel's mate, another dominant – but not a deer. No, the mighty, dark-red leather-wings attached to his back were a dead give-away that Frank was not a deer. He was a dragon. A very embarrassed dragon at the moment, because there was a cute, little submissive perched on the log next him, poking and prodding the wings with an awe-struck expression.

"Hazel!", called Frank out, looking lost and desperate. "Please make him stop!"

"But you're a dragon-shifter! I met a dragon once, I named him Festus! Dragons are so cool!"

Hazel and Nico paused in their tearful reunion to turn and look at Frank the flustered dragon and Leo the excited deer. The siblings tried very hard not to laugh. Percy himself didn't even try to hide the grin on his face. Jake however did not look amused the least. He looked ready to spit fire at the dragon. The only thing holding him back was Will, who was trying to introduce Jake to his second cousin twice removed or something like that. The man's name was Octavian and he was definitely creepy, that much was for sure. He was a tall, lanky, blonde dominant. And Octavian only looked partially interested in meeting his cousin's mate, because he was definitely too busy checking Luke out. Luke, who was very much bathing in the attention even though he didn't pay any attention to Octavian himself, because he was completely focused on Thalia introducing her baby brother Jason and Jason's mate Reyna to both Luke and Annabeth. For the first time since tagging along with Nico's herd, Percy felt left out and like he didn't belong at all.

/break\

Before Percy even had a chance to pick a den for himself and Nico and approach Nico, Hazel had everyone set up in huts. This herd actually lived in cute wooden cabins, very much like the little house his father used to have. She had smiled brightly at him and pushed him into an empty cabin, together with Luke, Annabeth, Cecil and Lou. Nico was staying with Frank and Hazel, while Will, Jake and Leo had gotten another house to themselves. Percy frowned displeased as he laid on the bed he was now temporarily sharing with Luke. The house had two bedrooms – Percy and Luke were sharing one, while Annabeth and Lou were sharing the other and Cecil had the questionable luck to be sleeping on the couch. Luke chuckled amused as he entered the bedroom, hair still wet from the shower he had taken. This was definitely better than camping outside. Luke's herd used to live in a large cave before, but he sure could get used to this.

"Someone looks pouty", observed Luke and collapsed right next to Percy on the bed, groaned blissfully. "Oh my spirits, this is heaven. I've never slept in an actual bed." Percy remained stubbornly silent and kept glaring at the ceiling. For a little while, they were laying in silence, but it didn't last too long with Luke. "So, you plan on telling Nico that you want to stay? We're having this fancy big barbeque to welcome us here and so far, Nico expects you to leave soon."

"I don't know", admitted Percy embarrassed. "I'm not... good at being part of a herd or anything. I don't know if I'd be a good mate. And Nico? He's the _king_ , so his mate would be the freaking queen. Do I look like a queen to you, Luke? And I still don't know if Nico would even be interested. I don't want to make a fool of myself. I don't know if I can... put myself out there like that."

"From what I saw the view days we've been traveling together, you're damn brave", argued Luke and nudged Percy roughly. "Get over yourself and just do this."

Percy turned enough to glare at Luke for being such a wise ass.

/break\

Nico was relatively happy the next morning. He had finally slept in a bed again, something he hadn't since his own home had burned down. He finally had his baby sister back and they had spend all evening talking and bonding again. They had talked to the elders and the council of Hazel's herd – the Western herd, whereas Nico's old herd used to occupy the East. The herd was more than happy to welcome their king and his herd into their midst. Nico was thinking about relocating though; more toward the center of the forest. The outskirts had the plus-side that they could walk to the next human settlement and get supplies from grocery stores, but the down-side was that humans were more likely to venture into their forest. They never got too far, but far enough to reach this settlement for sure. It was too risky a danger in Nico's mind. But he didn't plan on forcing anyone to tag along. Will, Jake, Leo, Cecil and Lou had already told him that they were with him for the long run. After talking to Hazel yesterday, it sounded as though her and her mate would be interested in a change too. That and she was happy to finally have her big brother back.

"Nico, there's a visitor for you", called Hazel out, steps coming closer to the kitchen.

Nico frowned and looked over at Frank, who just shrugged and handed him a coffee. After another moment did Hazel enter, closely followed by Percy, who was carrying a cake carton, smiling.

"G—Good morning, Percy", grunted Nico, clearing his throat to rid himself of the stutter.

He was surprised to see Percy. This was highly unexpected. Had Percy come to say goodbye? Hopefully not. Hopefully, he would stay at least a few days, just to recharge or something. It was utterly selfish, but Nico wanted to spend as much time with Percy as possible.

"Good morning", greeted Percy with one of his way too charming smiles that just made Nico go a little dumb in the head. "I, uh, couldn't really sleep last night. It's been a few years since I last slept in an actual bed. So... I raided the fridge and kinda... baked? Yeah. I baked a cake. I figured it'd be a good... thank you cake. For everything you've done for me, Nico. Thank you."

He put the box down on the kitchen table, right in front of Nico and Nico's heart sped up. Submissives baked for dominants when they wanted to be courted. Shaking his head, Nico tried to get rid of the flutter in his chest. It was a thank you cake, just as Percy had just said. Only a thank you. Not an invitation. Because Percy was going to leave again. Percy didn't want Nico like that.

"Thanks", grunted Nico before frowning. "I mean, you're welcome. But still thanks. For the cake."

Percy grinned at him, that slightly pitiful grin that meant 'You're a bit pathetic at times, but it's endearing. Like a puppy chasing its own tail'. And Nico was fine with that, because it looked completely breathtaking on Percy and because Nico knew he was kind of pathetic when gaping at Percy like the submissive stag was the most amazing thing in creation. Which he was, by the way.

"Uhm, I should... return. Leo was making breakfast when I left", stated Percy casually.

"Yeah. Sure. I'll... see you later", nodded Nico awkwardly.

Nico stared longingly after Percy until Frank's loud humming disturbed him. Frowning, Nico turned to watch the dragon getting out three plates and forks while chiming to himself. "Cake for breakfast, cake for breakfast, we're gonna have delicious cake for breakfast!"

Hazel stared displeased at her mate and shook her head. "Frank. The cake is for Nico. The _least_ you could do is ask him before assuming that we get pieces too."

Frank looked up and blinked confused at his mate. "Have you seen your brother? The guy is so skinny, there is no we he even _could_ pack an entire cake. Right, Nico? We get some, right?"

Hazel shook her head again and rolled her eyes fondly. The fondness slipped into curious confusion as Frank's face fell and he made a pitiful sound before collapsing on the chair in front of the cake, letting the box fall close again after having lifted the lid.

"No cake for us after all", huffed Frank with a pout.

Both Hazel and Nico exchanged a confused look before stepping up behind Frank. The dragon lifted the lid again so both Hazel and Nico could see and smell the very delicious looking chocolate cake with blue frosting saying _Court me, Nico?_ in elegant letters. Nico choked on air and Hazel laughed amused, patting her brother's back encouragingly.

"Congratulations, brother", grinned Hazel teasingly. "I have to say, I like him already. Direct enough to get through even your thick head, huh?"

Nico would have liked to give some kind of witty reply, but he was pretty sure his brain was fried. All he could do was stare at the chocolate cake and read that one sentence over and over and over again. Percy. Percy wanted Nico to court him. Percy had baked him a cake. As invitation. Percy wanted to be _his_. Percy wanted to be Nico's and he had baked Nico's favorite cake!

/break\

Percy was impatiently pacing the living room. Lou and Cecil were touring their new surroundings, while Leo was out with Will and Jake. Luke had gone to investigate Octavian, trying to get more information about the grumpy lanky dominant. Percy was not entirely sure what was intriguing about _that_ , but Luke seemed instantly into it, so he was meeting up with Thalia, Annabeth, Jason and Reyna to get information out of Jason and Reyna. Which meant Percy and his nerves were all on their own. Percy had dropped the cake off at Nico's place and fled before Nico could read it, because in the end, he couldn't stick around to see Nico's reaction. Now all he could do was pace around and wait for some kind of feedback from Nico. Was the cake good? Was it what Nico liked? Was Nico interested in courting him? Did Nico even want him around anymore?

There was a knocking on the door, after what felt like eternity to Percy. He was unsure when he went to open it and absolutely mortified when he did open it and saw Nico, bend over and holding his stomach like he was in pain. Had there been an attack? Was Nico hurt? Wounded? Dying?

"Oh spirits, Nico!", yelped Percy and hastily helped the king inside. "Are you injured?"

"Hngh?", moaned Nico confused and looked up at Percy. "What? No. Just... ate... too much..."

"...What?", grunted Percy unimpressed, both eyebrows raised. "What?"

Groaning softly, Nico collapsed on the couch, still holding his stomach. "You made me a cake. I had to... I had to talk to you about this, but I felt like not eating all would be kind of offensive, looking like I didn't enjoy it or wasn't into it or into the idea of courting you, so I... had to eat it all?"

Percy snorted and tried hard not too laugh, but he failed. "Oh man. Nico, you idiot. You ate an entire cake in less than an hour? I was a huge cake! I made sure to make it large because I thought you may share it with your sister and her mate and maybe the other members of your herd. It wasn't meant to be eaten by one person! Much less in such a short time! And it was so much chocolate."

"...Yeah", muttered Nico and made a face. "My stomach _hurts_. But the cake was _so good_. I doubt I would have shared it, even if I had known. It was delicious and so chocolatey and there were even _melted bits_ in it! I love melted bits. So much chocolatey goodness. And then it was made by _you_ , which made the cake about a hundred times better than anything I've ever eaten, because _you_ made it _for me_ and I just... I did not expect that."

Percy was torn between being awe, being overwhelmed by fondness or laughing again, even harder, at just how ridiculous Nico's adorable rambling was. He had never seen the composed king ramble like that before and it was incredible, knowing that _he_ made Nico that awe-struck.

"Idiot", whispered Percy lovingly and turned his back on Nico. "I'll make you a tea."

Nico hummed in confirmation, eyes glued to Percy's back as the submissive left the room. "So... you want me to court you, huh? But you always said you're only passing through. What... changed your mind? And when? Why didn't you say that you wanted to stay with us?"

"I didn't know that this place is my destination", replied Percy slowly from the kitchen. "I only realized that this forest is actually _the_ Enchanted Forest a few days ago, when Luke and the others joined us. That your father was King Hades. You never mentioned his name before... But my father, he send me to find King Hades in the Enchanted Forest. I... I had been thinking about it, about staying, for a little while, but when I learned that, my resolution about leaving melted away." Percy paused for a moment, seemingly thoughtful. "I didn't know how to say it, or if you even really... want me here. From the start, I said I'd only be passing through. I didn't know if you'd..."

"Of course we'd want you to stay", blurted Nico out and interrupted Percy shocked. "How could we not want you to stay?! A—And I'm not just talking about myself! Leo, Will, Cecil, Lou, Jake, they all grew fond of you. Luke, Thalia and... and _Annabeth_ seem to like you a lot too."

"...Why do you say Annie's name like that?", questioned Percy instantly as he emerged from the kitchen, carrying two cups of tea inside and staring questioningly at Nico.

"What? I just say her name. I don't say it like anything", huffed Nico defensively.

"Yeah, you do", snorted Percy and rolled his eyes. "Like she stole your favorite toy."

Nico pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "...You spend a lot of time with her."

Percy blinked astonished as he put the cups down on the table. "Oh my spirits, she _did_ steal your favorite toy. She stole _me_. I'm your favorite toy, you brat."

Nico's entire face lit up and he decidedly looked away from Percy, who just cooed teasingly at that. Though Percy was just as embarrassed. He was Nico's favorite? Nico was jealous of Annabeth?

"You're a hell of a submissive", huffed Nico and sat up a little. "Calling the dominant you want courting you a brat. You should like butter me up or something like that!"

"I made you tea", offered Percy mischievously. "That's enough pampering, I think."

Nico stuck his tongue out at Percy in a childish manner, but he had to smile despite himself. He loved that Percy was so honest and didn't take shit. It was what he enjoyed the most about Percy. Percy was honest, true to himself, he didn't back down. Percy was absolutely perfect for Nico.

"You're absolutely perfect", blurted Nico out as Percy cautiously pulled Nico's head into his lap and started running his fingers through Nico's curls in a soothing manner.

The movement stopped as Percy stared down at him stunned and flustered. "W—What...?"

Nico frowned, clearly upset with himself. "What I meant was that... Well, the reason I'm having a stomach ache right now is because I was just so eager that you want me to court you. Because you're perfect for me. You're everything I've ever looked for in a mate. For a few weeks now, I have been seeing you as... as a potential mate. You're gorgeous and cheeky and tricky and can fend for yourself and you're protective and strong and amazing and beautiful."

With every compliment, Percy's face turned another shade of red. "Y—You... mean that?"

Wincing a little, Nico sat up enough to look Percy in the eyes. "Yes. Yes, I mean that. For the past few days especially, practically everything I could think of was what a good mate you'd be, how nice it would be to share a den with you, to come home to you, to see what adorable little fawns you and I would make. I just... I want you, Percy. Please stay with me, in my herd, as my queen."

Percy smiled softly and leaned in to kiss Nico softly. It was only a chaste touch of lips. Nico's arms slid around Percy's waist to keep him in place, slowly pulling the submissive onto his lap until Percy was properly straddling Nico's lap. Smiling into their kiss, Percy laid his arms around Nico's neck to hold onto his potential soon to be mate and king.

/break\

The next day, Nico held a grand speech at the center of the village. About him leaving again and taking with him whoever wished to tag along and even those who would stay, Nico would be a good and caring king to them. They were to spread the word that the deers were not done just because King Hades had passed. King Nico would rise to rule them firmly and fairly and defend them.

Of course did Cecil, Lou and Will stick with Nico, as they had right from the start. And seeing as Jake was Will's mate and Leo was Jake's baby brother, both of them came along too. In the end, Luke, Thalia and Annabeth decided that they had grown fond of Nico's herd too. Though Percy was a little surprised at how many of this herd decided to stick with Nico. But then again, Nico was the king and being with the king was a promise of safety in a way. There was also the matter of the size of this village. Apparently, it had grown a lot over the past decade and could hardly hold all the shifters who lived there by now. Aside from Hazel and her mate Frank, seven other shifters decided to leave the village behind. Thalia's brother Jason, his mate Reyna, as well as Octavian, Chris, his mate Clarisse, Charles and his mate Silena. So, all in all, Nico's herd was a good size by the time they left. Nico had a clear plan where they wanted to go.

A clearing they had passed before Luke, Thalia and Annabeth had joined them. There was a waterfall, ending in a pond that fed a beautiful stream. It was absolutely perfect.

And thankfully enough, Charles proved to be as good at building things as Jake and Leo and between them all, it was an easier task to build the houses and raise a village from the ground. Sure, it was a lot of work, but it was good work. Team-building work. And the pride that swelled Percy's chest when Nico first opened the door to their little wooden cabin and guided him inside, knowing that the two of them had build this den together, it was amazing. It made Percy's heart beat faster, especially when Nico laid an arm around his waist, resting his hand on Percy's lower back.

"So... this...", started Nico awkwardly before clearing his throat. "Mister Jackson, would you do me the honors of sharing this den with me? As... my... mate?"

Percy's cheeks lit up. It had been obvious where they were heading for months now. Ever since they had left Hazel's old herd. Still, so far they had gone slow. Like, snail pace slow. Actually, lie. Snails had passed them at lightning speed at this point. Seriously. Even _Leo_ had mates at this point. Frank and Hazel had been courting him during the entire way from the other village to this clearing and they had pulled through with the mate bond. Much to the displeasure of Jake and Will. Will had taken on a motherly role for Leo and he did not approve of two dominants courting and fast forwarding to the mating without consulting Leo's parental figures. Needless to say, Frank and Hazel were very busy trying to suck up to Will and Jake now. So, while even Leo was happily mated by now, all Percy got were cute courting gifts, nice dinners and on a few occasions, Nico and Percy had even gone hunting together. But they had not gone past kissing yet. After all, Nico was the king and they needed to take care of the proper etiquette and whatever. Because, seriously, whatever. Percy was so done waiting. He wanted Nico to claim him, he wanted to cuddle up to Nico and sleep in one bed with him and be Nico's mate, damn it all.

"Yes", replied Percy firmly, grasping Nico's collar and pulling him into a kiss. " _Yes_."

Nico grinned into the kiss, seemingly very pleased with himself. Not that he got to enjoy a lot of time with Percy, because the submissive instantly pushed him off and ran away. Nico blinked confused and stared after Percy as his to-be-mate shifted into his beautiful deer-form and ran up to their neighbors. The blue deer nudged the door with his silver antlers until a sleepy Luke opened.

"...Why are you a deer...?", asked Luke and yawned widely.

Percy cooed and nudged Luke determined. Rolling his eyes, Luke also shifted. The taller deer gave Percy a pointed glare before brushing cheeks with Percy in an affectionate way. The two of them had bonded a lot since their first meeting and even more so since they actually became herd-mates.

"What's going on, Perce?", inquired Luke as the two of them slowly left the village.

"Nico finally asked me! He finally caved and asked me to become his mate", declared Percy.

There was a skip to his steps, making Luke shake his head in amusement. "I'm glad for you. Believe me, it was unbearable enough to watch the two of you dancing around each other. Not to mention all those hormones. Dis-gus-ting. You already send most the dominants into a rut with it."

Percy grinned and ducked his head as the two of them passed Chris, Clarisse, Charles and Silena. Both couples were outside, trading stories and laughing. Silena had become their village's baker and Clarisse was their village's butcher. They were doing good, they had build a great life of their own.

"Oh, Percy, Luke!", called Silena with a bright smile waving at them.

Both Luke and Percy turned to nod at them in acknowledgment. Percy smiled to himself as he saw how Charles laid an arm around Silena and nodded into their general direction. Charles was more the silent type, but he was very good with his hands – he, Jake and Leo were still rather busy building furniture for everyone. Though most were already pretty content having a roof over their heads at the moment. Percy blinked curiously as he and Luke were joined by another deer.

"Percy! Luke! Where are we going?", asked Leo excited.

The three of them still hung out a lot, even though Leo was mated by now. It was an instinctual thing that submissives enjoying bonding with each other. Leo's eyes were wide and curious as he looked at Percy, taking in the overly happy smile on the blue deer's face.

"Your brother in law finally asked Percy for his hoof in marriage", stated Luke casually.

"Really?", gasped Leo, turning to look at Luke before staring stunned at Percy. "Really? Oh man, I am so happy for you! I've been bugging Hazel to bully Nico into finally doing it!"

"Yeah, it's really due time", sighed Percy frustrated. "I mean, when I baked him that cake and we kissed, I kind of assumed that we'd be mated by the end of the week. Not that he'd start dropping flowers off like every day, or hunt for me and do all those fancy little things that are like totally unnecessary because he and I, we already agreed to become mates, damn it."

"He's the king", offered Luke and nudged Percy. "He was raised learning all about the proper etiquette and out of every deer in this forest, he especially needs to stick with it."

"I know, I know, I know", sighed Percy with a pout. "Doesn't make the blue balls I'm suffering any less awful. Besides, if that's Nico's excuse, what's Octavian's?"

If they were human, then Luke would have blushed. Percy could clearly see it in the way Luke tilted his head. Leo next to them snickered, clearly reading Luke the same way Percy did.

"...I don't think he's interested in me like that", muttered Luke.

He grunted as Percy rather roughly shoved him with his antlers. "Bullshit. He has the hots for you, like seriously. He loves you, but I suspect him to be too much of a dickhead to admit it. So I guess you gotta be the man in this relationship and gave the balls to ask him out."

Luke huffed and glared at Percy before nudging him back with his own antlers. "Shut it, Perce."

The two of them started fighting playfully until they were exhausted and all three of them collapsed on the ground in laughter, curling up together to seek warmth and comfort.

"You'll go and ask him, right?", whispered Percy softly into Luke's neck. "Because even though I don't think Octavian is great, you apparently do. And you deserve to get who you love."

Luke hummed without a word, instead he started licking Percy's cheek.

/break\

Percy frowned worried as he looked around the kitchen. He may have gone a tiny bit overboard. He may have gone a lot overboard, actually. A blush graced his cheeks as he started frantically trying to put all the food away somewhere, out of sight so Nico wouldn't see.

"Oh. Did you invite the herd over for dinner?", asked Nico surprised and pleased as he entered, a gentle smile on his lips as he walked up to Percy and wrapped his arms around Percy's waist to pull him close up against Nico's chest. "That is so considerate of you. You'll be a great queen."

"...Yeah. Yeah, that is totally what I planned", agreed Percy after a beat.

Why not roll with it? Sure, he had only planned on making dinner for Nico to celebrate that they finally reached the next stage of mating. But inviting the entire herd to celebrate their new home was probably a good move for a future queen. And he sure had made enough food for everyone.

"Are... uhm... I mean...", started Percy before pausing with a frown. "I drew you a bath, I figured after you spend all day with Jake, Beckendorf and the others working on last touches for the other houses, you may want to relax some. So, why don't you go soak and I get everything set?"

Nico hummed contently and kissed Percy's temple softly. "You're such a wonderful doe, love."

Percy blushed and ducked his head. He watched after Nico as his soon to be mate walked up the stairs to their bathroom. Time to get all the food back out and set a nice buffet up. He also needed to invite everyone over so they would actually be here for dinner.

/break\

Nico felt relaxed and at ease by the time he wrapped his robe and fur around his body again. An easy smile laid on his lips as he could hear the commotion downstairs. Percy was not alone anymore. When he walked down, he saw Percy, Leo, Silena and Luke carrying around food. Outside, though. Frowning curiously, Nico trailed after Percy to see that everyone had carried their kitchen tables to the center of their little village – the nine small houses of their herds arranged in a circle around the place. The tables were arranged in a circle, with all the delicious looking and smelling food that had previously been in Nico's and Percy's kitchen spread out on them.

"This is a nice idea, my king", hummed Chris with a cocky grin. "Your queen is a catch."

"...He is", whispered Nico with a dopey smile on his lips.

"Someone is completely head over heels", teased Jason, wrapping one arm around Nico's shoulders.

His mate Reyna laughed as she approached from the other side. "Percy has him wrapped around his little finger. That much is for sure, right my king?"

"...Yeah", admitted Nico and made a grimace.

"Don't look so tortured by that", chided Silena with a frown as she passed them. "Percy is a darling. You're one very lucky dominant, so you better look happy and do your best."

Her best friend Clarisse, trailing after her, grunted in agreement. "You heard my girl. If you hurt the little punk, you're in big trouble. King or not."

Nico smiled faintly, feeling utterly pleased that everyone had gotten so attached to Percy, because Percy was amazing and Percy would be a great queen. All of a sudden, Percy was there, tugging on Nico's hand and pulling him along to the table, with Nico obediently following. The two of them came to stand in a circle with all their herd members once all food was put out. Everyone was looking at Nico expectantly, but all he did was rest his hand on Percy's lower back, pushing a bit.

"It's your party, you talk", whispered the young king.

Sea-green eyes widened a little and Percy started shifting around awkwardly. "Uhm... I'm..." Pausing, Percy took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I'm grateful to be here. I'm grateful to have found a herd to trust and a... a place to call home. This is... all I've wanted for many years and I'm grateful to share it all with you – so I want to celebrate this with you all. To our home."

"Here, here!", called the others, lifting their glasses high.

With that, everyone started digging in. There was something for everyone and there was also lots of wine. Good food and alcohol kept people happy and within an hour, everyone was laughing and joking. Everyone was happy and Percy truly, really felt like he had found a family.

"Am I seeing things or is Luke actually feeding Octavian?", whispered Nico disturbed.

Percy actually giggled – he blamed the gods damned genius wine – as he looked over at Luke and Octavian. The grumpy blonde looked actually disgruntled and confused as Luke kept bringing food and drinks to him and even holding it in front of Octavian's lips. Luke was being tenderly aggressive. He didn't give up, regardless of how discouraging Octavian was being.

"Yeah, that's happening", grinned Percy, grabbing Nico's arm to hold onto it.

"...The question is why?", grunted Nico disturbed.

"Because you don't chose who you fall in love with", hummed Percy with a dreamy expression.

"Wouldn't have pecked you for a sap", teased Nico amused, kissing Percy's temple.

Percy froze up, cheeks red. This was the most intimate gesture that had been between them yet. He blamed the wine that had loosened Nico up a little. If he would have known that, he would have given Nico wine earlier – and more. Smiling shyly to himself, Percy pushed against Nico with his head, antlers clacking against each other. Nico held onto Percy in a possessive hold.

"So, the two of you are going to go at it like bunnies tonight, aren't you?", teased Annabeth.

"Shush it", mumbled Percy, elbowing the blonde next to him with a glare.

"What?", giggled Annabeth, wiggling her eyebrows. "Everybody knows that you can't wait to get laid, Jackson. You've been so obviously trying to court him into taking the next step that it borderlines porn, really. We're all glad once you two got that out of your systems."

"Believe me, so am I", muttered Percy and frowned. "My hormones have been going wild ever since we started the courting process. There's a constant chant of 'mate, mine, have' in my mind."

"Charles told me...", started Annabeth before dropping her voice some more. "That you already ordered a crib? Aren't you a _little_ early with that? The two of you didn't even have sex yet."

"Chant. In my mind. Wanting my mate and our fawns", grunted Percy unimpressed. "You have _no_ idea how the instincts of a submissive work. I've had a dominant courting me for weeks now, my body is getting ready for the next stage. Starting a family."

"...Well then, have fun", grunted Annabeth and shook her head.

"I will", purred Percy with a nearly wicked expression on his face. "I will."

/break\

All houses had gotten their finishing touch today, which was really reason for celebration as Percy realized belatedly. Sure, they lacked basically all the interior and furniture, but everyone now had their own roof over their head. This was officially a village, not a construction side.

"Is getting late, I'll bring you home", murmured a sleepy and drunk Nico into his ear.

The more wine Nico consumed, the clingier he had gotten. At this point, he had Percy settled on his lap, arms possessively around Percy's waist and chin resting on Percy's shoulder. The drunk king looked very pleased with himself. Percy, who had stopped drinking early enough and was by now only feeling that pleasant warm buzzing, smiled at his king.

"Yeah. That's a great idea", agreed Percy an d kissed Nico's nose.

Some of the others had retreated home too. Though Clarisse and Silena were dancing on the table top to a song Leo had come up with on the spur of the moment. Percy cautiously helped Nico up and the king was leaning heavily on Percy on the way. However, Percy was unsure if it was for support or because Nico wanted to be all over Percy. Alcohol lowered inhibitions and made shifters act more on instinct. While Percy was maneuvering his very soon to be mate toward their house, he passed Octavian who was carrying a sleeping Luke bridal style toward the house where Luke, Thalia and Annabeth were residing. The tall blonde glared at Percy's grin.

"I am just escorting the intoxicated, unmated submissive home so nothing happens to him", growled Octavian defensively.

"I didn't say a word", chimed Percy with the broadest grin possible. "I didn't say how there's not a single danger in this little sanctuary we build, or how Thalia offered to help him..."

Octavian grunted displeased and turned away from Percy, making Percy snicker softly. Sure, to Percy Octavian didn't seem like a sweet guy, but he was certain that Octavian had a reason to be so cold and defensive. Maybe Octavian needed someone as persistent as Luke to warm that frozen heart. Winking at Octavian's back one last time, Percy steered Nico into their house.

"Mh...", grunted Nico, hands greedily holding onto Percy. "You're _mine_... Our home now. You an' me will live here... in one house, one bedroom... Mh... Let's go to bed..."

"Yes. Let's go", hummed Percy in pleased agreement.

Their bed was large and, aside from the kitchen-table and two chairs, the only furniture they had so far. Giving Nico one push, the king collapsed on the bed spread-eagled, grinning pleased at Percy. After a moment, Nico started making grabby motions for Percy. Giggling amused by Nico's behavior, because so far Nico had been overly polite and an utter gentleman and now he was finally showing what he really wanted and just how much he wanted Percy. Within seconds, Percy was straddling Nico's waist and they were kissing deeply and passionately.

"...Pretty doe...", murmured Nico, looking totally in awe as he cupped Percy's cheek. "Mine..."

Percy was biting his lips hard as a pleased blush lit up his face. "Yeah. Yours."

"Gorgeous queen", continued Nico, trailing kisses along Percy's neck as his hands slipped down to cup Percy's lower cheeks. "So, so pretty... and so sweet an' kind... a—and a good cook. Made delicious food for the whole herd, because you're such a wonderful queen... so amazing..."

Percy's face was positively tomato-red at all the praise, ducking his head to hide it in the crook of Nico's neck. "S—Stop it. You're being really embarrassing, Nick."

"An' you're bein' too... too... too Percy!", exclaimed Nico determined, planting a sloppy kiss on Percy's lips. "Is your fault for being all Percy. Is too much Percyness. All the Percyness."

"Oh spirits, I am so going to get you drunk on a regular base", whispered Percy and giggled.

He started peppering Nico's face with kisses. "Stop it. I'm busy worshiping _you_! Gimme more Percy." Nico grunted and rolled them over to lay between Percy's legs. "There. Better. My Percy."

For a few minutes, Nico just trailed kisses along every bit of skin that he could reach, tugging Percy's fur off and cautiously laying it aside so he could get more of the Percyness that he wanted. Now that Percy was naked and in front of him, Nico looked very pleased with the amount of Percyness he had. So pleased with things, Nico collapsed on the bed and pulled Percy onto his chest, holding him close. Percy frowned as Nico closed his eyes and his breathing evened out.

"Oi. Are you... Are you falling asleep on me?", asked Percy ridiculed, poking Nico.

"...Yes", yawned Nico, burying his nose in Percy's hair. "I have all the Percy I need an' we're finally sharing a den and I just wanna hold you, because you fit like perfectly into my arms."

"...Really?", asked Percy dumbfounded, blinking slowly.

"I'm drunk", huffed Nico and rolled his eyes like Percy was slow. "I'm not gonna do the mating while I'm drunk like a satyr. I'm jus' gonna hold my Percy and sleep now..."

The surprised look on Percy melted into a soft and tender one as he smiled at his to be mate. Turning around in the embrace, Percy cupped Nico's cheek and kissed him softly.

"Yeah, that... sounds like a great plan, my Nico", whispered Percy with a grin. "Sleep well."

"I'm gonna...", declared Nico with a dopey grin. "Cuz I got my herd an' my den an' my queen."

Percy's smile grew as he rolled his eyes fondly.

/break\

Okay, so Percy had a new favorite thing: Waking up in Nico's arms. Everything smelt like Nico and felt safe and comfortable and wonderful. Smiling contently, Percy rubbed his nose along Nico's collarbone. Nico grunted as he woke up sluggishly, blinking blearily.

"...Good dream", declared Nico as he laid eyes on Percy.

"I'm not a dream, Nico", laughed Percy and kissed his to be mate softly. "Good morning."

"Well then, let me rephrase", grunted Nico and sat up some, dopey grin on his lips. "Good reality."

Giggling, Percy rolled over so he was leaning over Nico's torso. "How are you feeling?"

"Like an angel is looking down upon me", mused Nico in awe, caressing Percy's cheek.

"Okay, seriously, cease the sappiness", huffed Percy embarrassed.

"But you're so cute when you blush", declared Nico teasingly, arms around Percy's waist. "I'm feeling good though. Thanks to shifter metabolism. I feel like I could rip out trees. Or..."

"Or?", inquired Percy curiously, tilting his head.

He yelped as Nico rolled them over and pinned Percy onto the bed. "Or seal the deal and make you my mate and queen. What do you say? I'd like to have you for breakfast and pancakes for dessert."

Percy's eyes turned dark as he looked at Nico and wrapped his arms around Nico's neck to pull him down into a heated kiss. Nico grunted surprised into the kiss at the force and passion as Percy now rolled them over to straddle Nico's waist, hands spread over Nico's chest to pin him down.

"Mine", growled Percy, nibbling on Nico's lips.

"...Wow", whispered Nico in awe, blinking slowly. "Someone's horny, mh?"

"Someone's desperate", groaned Percy frustrated, kissing Nico's jawline. "You've been courting me for too long now. My body was getting ready to mating this whole time and you... you... you keep being so overly polite without even much groping or making out..."

"Because that's not how courtship works", argued Nico amused.

"Yeah, well, screw this", muttered Percy, kissing Nico again full-force. "Now get naked."

Laughing softly, Nico spread his arms and let Percy take off his fur and robes. Percy started placing kisses all over Nico's torso, trailing Nico's sixpack with his tongue in a hungry way until he started nibbling Nico's hipbones. The king started to think that Percy was really hungry.

"You want me for breakfast?", asked Nico with a smile. "...Oh. You actually _do_ , huh?"

He stared wide-eyed down as Percy swallowed Nico's cock whole, right down to the knot. The motion was no less greedy than anything before. If anything, he was even more intense. Nico started seeing stars as Percy found all the right angles, having Nico's cock down his throat, tongue teasing his head and the vein. Percy's cunning fingers were rolling Nico's balls in all the right ways.

"P—Percy", groaned Nico, fingers clawed into Percy's hair. "S—Stop before i—it's over..."

With a popping sound, Percy released Nico's cock to stare at the king with a wicked smirk. "Babe, you're gonna come at least trice today. This is us sealing out mate-bond. It's gonna be intense."

That was all the warning he got before Percy swallowed him again, bobbing his head vigorously until Nico had to give in. With a strangled gasp of Percy's name did Nico come down Percy's throat. The king collapsed against the bed, breathing hard. Licking his lips, Percy sat up again.

"That was a good start", declared Percy before collapsing next to Nico. "My turn."

"You're one demanding sub", whispered Nico with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah, well, go on and return the favor", demanded Percy, pointing at his own raging erection.

"Well then, turn around", ordered Nico. "On your knees, sweetheart."

Percy frowned confused but obeyed. He yelped as Nico pushed him down so he was half laying. Then Nico pushed Percy's thighs apart. For a moment, Percy wondered what Nico was doing. The wonder was replaced with an electrifying sense of pleasure that overcame him as he felt Nico's cunning tongue run a stripe up between Percy's cheeks before Nico parted his lover's cheeks and duck in deeper. The sound escaping Percy was a high pitched and wanton yelp as Nico circled his hole and then pushed in. Multiple minutes passed with Nico French kissing Percy's ass, thrusting in deeper and loosening Percy up in the best way the submissive could have ever pictured. The king was eating him out, enjoying the sweet taste of Percy's lube, flooding his tight channels at all the arousal overwhelming him. Percy mewled, barely capable of expressing himself anymore as Nico started jerking him off roughly. It took Percy an embarrassingly short moment to come into his lover's hands, but the assault from the tongue was just too much. With a whimper on his tongue did Percy collapse against the bed once more, though this time in exhaustion.

"T—That was... d—different...", gasped Percy intrigued. "I think I like it. A lot."

"Just returning the favor", hummed Nico with a mischievous grin. "C'mere, babe."

Percy more than willingly crawled into Nico's arms, snuggling up to the other. A pleased sound came from the submissive as he felt Nico's half-hard member poke him. Grinning softly, Percy started rubbing his ass against Nico's cock. The young king groaned greedily as he grew harder.

"Someone seems still... hungry", noted Nico with a lazy half-smirk.

"I need your knot to seal the bond", declared Percy simply, shrugging lightly.

Huffing in agreement, Nico grasped Percy's hips to hold him in place. "Y—Yeah. I gotta agree."

After feeling Percy's lips on his dick and tasting the tight sweetness of Percy's hole, Nico was finally beyond denying Percy. There was no going back anymore. They were going to seal the deal right here and now. Sitting up sharply, Nico turned Percy onto his back and spread his lover's legs.

"I have waited for this for _so long_ ", groaned Percy, arms tightly around Nico's neck once more.

He pulled his mate to be down into a passionate kiss, one that Nico more than willingly participated in. While one of his hands was squeezing Percy's thigh in an encouraging and possessive manner, his other hand slipped between the spread thighs to the slippery slick hole, pushing two fingers in.

"Want my dick? My knot?", asked Nico teasingly, pulling out again. "Want me to fill you up?"

"Yes", groaned Percy frustrated. "Want you. My mate. Our fawns. Please?"

Nico blinked slowly, completely dazzled by the wanton submissive beneath him. "F—Fawns...?"

" _Yes_ ", growled Percy, kissing the corners of Nico's mouth. "Yours and mine. Cute, little fawns. Beautiful fawns. We have a beautiful house. Let's fill it with our own family."

"Yes", agreed Nico without missing a beat, eyes dark with want.

Without wasting another second, Nico pushed in. It took him all the iron will he had to keep from just senselessly thrusting in. Percy was so tight and hot and wet, clamping down on him greedily as though Percy wanted to keep him from ever leaving again. Right now, Nico couldn't imagine one valid reason to do so. Being inside of Percy was the perfect place to be.

"Feels so good", growled Nico, peppering Percy's face with kisses. "Perfect little mate..."

Their antlers clacked as Nico nudged him. Percy keened as he bared his neck in an attempt to reach out for Nico's antlers. They were smaller in their human-form, but a dominant's antlers were still larger and thicker than a submissive's, a physical manifestation of their strength. Reaching up, Percy wrapped his lips around one end of the silvery antler, licking and suckling in an encouraging manner. Nico groaned deeply at that, picking up his pace with the delicious motivation. It was a praise, in a way. A submissive licking and sucking on a dominant's antler was like saying 'You're so strong and mighty, thank you for protecting me'. It was silly, considering that they were safe and that Percy was rather capable of protecting himself, but it were their instincts. Huffing, Nico pulled nearly all the way out before thrusting forward mercilessly. Percy gasped, digging his blunt nails into Nico's back to hold onto his lover as Nico thrust harder and sharper, more frantic.

"Gorgeous little queen", praised Nico, kissing the corner of Percy's mouth. "Gonna be so good for me, so, so good... Beautiful, tight, precious little mate... Mine..."

Percy was positively falling apart at the praise and the fucking. He loved feeling so... validated. So wanted. To hear that he was what Nico wanted in a mate, that he was wanted like that. His legs tightened around Nico's waist, trying to keep his mate in place.

"K—Knot me", ordered Percy, pulling Nico down into a heated kiss. "Please. Need your knot."

"Gonna give it to you, babe", growled Nico, fucking even harder.

He could hear the bed scratch against the wooden floor at the rough treatment and Percy was thoroughly enjoying it. He could feel the base of Nico's dick swelling up, stretching Percy's hole more and more. Honestly, he had never been knotted before, but he had done some research before and he had heard _plenty_ of details from Will and Leo at this point. He felt ready to burst, there was a burning and a pain, but it was strangely enough such a pleasant pain. Percy gasped strangled as Nico reached his peak and thrust harder, hitting Percy's prostate repeatedly. Their lips met in a messy kiss consisting mostly of teeth as Nico started massaging Percy's dick again. Not long after did Percy come all over their stomachs. He was breathing harshly, all that kept him upright was Nico's grip and his thrusts. The knot was _so thick_ , spreading him just so, so wide.

"C—Coming", groaned the king, slipping his lips down to Percy's neck. "Coming, mate."

Percy made a keen, high-pitched noise as Nico's cum flooded him and the dominant bit down hard. He broke skin, sure to leave a scar – a mark. The mating mark. Percy moaned wantonly, not even holding back. He grabbed Nico by the shoulders to pull him back down so Percy could now catch Nico's throat between his teeth to return the favor. Nico huffed, riding his orgasm out to the sensation of Percy biting and marking him. Once both were finished, they slowly lowered themselves onto the bed again and turned onto their sides in slow motion.

"...Fuck that was good", groaned Nico exhausted, pulling Percy onto his chest.

"Is still good", mumbled Percy, wiggling a little around the knot seated inside him. "Feels good. Like being connected to you. Like being yours. Tied to you. My king. My mate. Mine."

"Yes, your mate", agreed Nico, kissing the top of Percy's head. "And you're mine. My queen."

Percy hummed in agreement as he rubbed his nose against Nico's collarbone.

/omake\

Life in the Great Undergrove Forest was what Percy had longed for all of his life. A place to belong to, others like him, a family and a true home. All thanks to the love of his life – his mate.

"Good morning, my queen", greeted Nico as he noticed that Percy was awake.

Grinning, Percy slowly opened his eyes to peek at Nico. "Good morning, my king. Slept well?"

"Let's see... I had a wonderful meal with my mate, my sister and hers last night before falling asleep with the love of my life in my arms...", drawled Nico thoughtful. "Yeah. I slept well."

"Dork", snorted Percy and rolled his eyes as he leaned up to kiss Nico. "You're lucky I lover you."

"You have _no idea_ just how lucky I am", murmured Nico, stealing a kiss of his own.

"Sappy dork", corrected Percy with a small pleased smile.

"You bet your fine ass I am", smirked Nico, groping two hands full of said fine ass.

Percy yelped a little as Nico squeezed him. Glaring, Percy hit Nico's chest, just to have the king shrug in an unapologetic kind of way. Sea-green eyes were rolled at Nico as Percy sat up some.

"I'm gonna make you regret that", warned Percy, straddling Nico's waist. "How dare you tease your queen! Such an offense will be punished... very, very badly..."

He grabbed Nico's wrists and pinned him to the bed, grinning mischievously. Nico's eyes darkened as he returned the smirk and leaned up as far as he could, waiting for Percy to join him in a kiss. This promised to be a thoroughly amazing morning indeed.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!"

...And there the mood went, right out the window. In came two olive-skinned little fawns. The girl had tiny antlers and two curly pigtails right beneath them and a boy, slightly smaller and younger than the girl and with the most brilliant sea-green eyes possible, his antlers decorated with the same little shards of sapphires, just like his mommy's. The boy came crashing right into Percy, effectively knocking the queen of the forest off his king. Percy laughed as he hit the bed and pulled his son into a tight hug. The little boy hummed happily and snuggled up to his mommy.

"Sorry, daddy", sighed the girl displeased. "I tried holding him back, I know you like having some alone time with mommy in the morning. But Donny had a nightmare and wanted cuddles..."

Nico chuckled fondly as he reached out for his five years old daughter. "It's okay, princess. Come here for family cuddles, mh? And what evil nightmare woke my little prince?"

Donny peeked out from Percy's embrace, two pair of sea-green eyes staring up at Nico and as always, Nico found his breath completely gone. He _loved_ Bianca Maria, his firstborn child and heir, his little princess with the same pitch-black eyes as his late mother and sister, but little Donny was just so much like Percy and at the same time he also wasn't. Donny was a little coward. He was easily startled and sought out protection from his parents and sisters. He was the sweetest and most innocent little creature Nico had ever encountered.

"I dunno", hummed Donny and shrugged. "Twas bad and I was scared."

"Oh, my poor little angel", cooed Percy with a frown, coddling Donny even tighter. "Everything is alright now, sweetling, mommy and daddy are gonna protect you, mh?"

"Yes", nodded Donny pleased, rubbing his cheek against Percy's. "Mommy's always there."

"Yes, mommy is", agreed Nico fondly.

He ran his fingers through Bianca Maria's hair as he watched his mate and their little boy cuddling. This was his life. His life and he truly loved every second of it. Bianca Maria tugged on his sleeve.

"Daddy? Can you braid my hair?", asked Bianca Maria with large pleading eyes.

Nico grinned and sat up, nodding slowly. "Of course I will, my little princess."

He half listened to Percy telling Donny a story to sooth him back to sleep for a little, while Nico was braiding Bianca Maria's pigtails. There was a soft smile on Nico's lips. When his mother had died, followed by his father and his sister, he thought he would never find happiness and love like that again. That he'd never find his own family. But here he was, with the most perfect and beautiful mate possible and two amazing heirs both of whom he cherished and adored.

"So, what's the plan for today, little angel?", asked Percy softly once Donny had fallen asleep.

"I wanna meet with Danny and we wanna play lots and then maybe we wanna go to auntie Hazel so we can play with Esperanza too? But Esperanza said that she had plans with uncle Leo...", pouted Bianca Maria as she wiggled her nose. "Oh. Maybe we can go to auntie Clarisse and ask if Cally can come to play with us? But... auntie Clarisse wanted to go hunt with Cally..."

"Sounds like it's just you and Danny today", offered Nico amused, kissing the top of her head. "Don't worry. Cally and Esperanza surely will have more time for you tomorrow, mh?"

"Uhu", nodded Bianca Maria a little upset, turning large eyes on Percy. "Will you spend time with me today then, mommy? Since daddy always says we're not allowed to run through the forest without an adult. And Danny said she has plans with her daddy too, so you could go swim with me when Danny has no more time for me? Please, mommy?"

"Since your little brother has a play-date with Sander and Chris already offered watching them, I would have a couple of ours to spend with my favorite girl", agreed Percy with a grin.

"Yes!", exclaimed Bianca Maria before instantly quieting down as she looked at Donny. "Sorry..."

The boy barely stirred in his sleep, just snuggling up more to his mommy. Nico laughed softly. Their children, whenever they sought out protection, they would always find Percy. It was a little ironic, considering that Nico was the dominant and the king, on top of that. But the protectiveness of a mother were so much beyond the strength of any dominant possible.

"How about I drop Donny off at the Rodriguezes' so you and Bianca Maria can get going?", offered Nico softly. "After all, I have no important meetings until noon... Urgh."

"Don't always say 'urgh' when you have to meet Annie", chided Percy with a glare.

"I can't help it. Her knows it all nature is very exhausting", huffed Nico with a pout.

Percy snorted and threw a pillow at his mate, causing Bianca Maria to giggle.

/break\

Percy smiled pleased to himself as he watched the two fawns run off. Bianca Maria, with her black fur and her cute small silvery antlers, and Danny, with her light brown and nearly golden fur. The two were running zigzag around the trees, never trailing from Percy's watchful eyes. Percy sat with his legs folded beneath his body, preening his fur a little.

"Children", called Percy out after a while. "Haven't you run enough?"

"Why? What do you wanna do, mommy?", asked Bianca Maria eagerly as they ran up to him.

"I figured we could go and pick some strawberries. Maybe I'd make a cake", offered Percy.

Danny and Bianca Maria gasped and stared wide-eyed at him, both very excited at the prospect of getting some of Percy's famous strawberry cake. Percy grinned mischievously at that and watched how the two little girls changed back into human form and ran off to look for strawberries. They were slower and more cautious when looking for something. That seemed much safer than having them chasing each other through the woods. Percy also changed back to human. He slowly strolled after them, watching fondly as the little girls gathered strawberries, first showing Percy how great and big and delicious looking they were. Once the little basket Percy had brought was filled to the brim with delicious strawberries, Percy suggested for them to return back home.

"You had plans with your daddy, didn't you Danny?", asked Percy mischievously.

"Yeah!", exclaimed Danny and nodded wildly. "I nearly forgot! Daddy is probably waiting!"

"That's no problem at all, Danny", assured Percy, laying one arm around Bianca Maria's shoulders and the other around Danny's. "And by the time you guys get back home, maybe I'll have a piece of cake waiting for you, mh? You could come over with your mommy."

"Mommy will like that", nodded Danny thoughtful. "And I like cake."

Bianca Maria giggled as the three neared the village again. The two girls were chatting animatedly about how auntie Reyna had offered them to play soccer tomorrow afternoon and even Cally Rodriguez and Esperanza Zhang had said they'd so come. They wanted to play girls versus boys, with Sander Rodriguez, Herc Grace, Clark Beckendorf and little Donny on the other team.

"We're so gonna win", declared Bianca Maria with sparkling eyes.

Danny just wanted to agree with her when the little blonde girl spotted someone near the outskirts of their village. She yelped with bright eyes and started struggling against Percy's grip.

"Mommy!", exclaimed Danny, pulling away fully from Percy.

Percy huffed and rolled his eyes as he watched her go. She instantly ran up to Luke and threw herself at the man, hugging him tightly. Luke grunted at the impact and wrapped his arms around her, collapsing on the ground so she could crawl into his lap and nestle against him.

"Hello there, darling", chuckled Luke, ruffling her hair.

"Mine!", declared Danny happily, rubbing her cheek against his chest. "My mommy! Mi—ine!"

Luke laughed softly and smoothed her hair slowly. Suddenly, Danny jumped up and gasped, waving her arms wildly around on either side of Luke's head, making Luke back off a little.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy!", called Danny out. "Look! I found mommy first! Mommy's all mine!"

"What?", grunted Octavian with a frown, arms crossed over his chest. "No, Sedanur. That's mine."

"Nu—uh", disagreed Danny with a matching frown, hands on her hips. "Mommy is mine."

"Not quite. I saw him first, he's mine", argued Octavian, shaking his head.

Percy was snorting beneath his breath as he sat down beside Luke, with Bianca Maria eagerly crawling into his lap to be more comfortable. He exchanged a look with the other submissive, the corners of his mouth drawn up. Luke was grinning from ear to ear as he rolled his eyes, nodding in agreement. Those two had been playing this game ever since Sedanur moved to their little village. She had been merely an infant, helpless and all alone after her herd has presumably been killed by hunters. The whole village had taken turns taking care of her ever since, but she took the most to Luke and Luke instantly adored her. Octavian acted annoyed and like it was a great sacrifice on his part, as the first time Danny had been in danger, he had gone all over-protective dad and not let her out of his sight for the entire following week, keeping her curled up against him and growling at anyone who wasn't Luke when they tried to approach them. To make it short, finding Danny was the best thing that had happened to Octavian ever since he mated with Luke. And after Danny started walking and talking, she and Octavian had entered a kind of competition. Both loved Luke, so they always fought for Luke's attention. Whoever got to Luke first, got to keep Luke.

"You're both so wrong, you know", stated Luke playfully, interrupting them. " _You_ are both _mine_."

Danny and Octavian exchanged a look before stepping aside a little and whispering with each other in low voices and with serious faces. When they turned back to Luke as a united front, both of them looked very sober, both having their arms crossed over their chests.

"Sedanur and I came to the agreement that we accept your claim", stated Octavian.

"Uhu", agreed Danny, nodding wildly. "We approve of that! Is best solution!"

With that, the little girl threw herself at Luke, being caught by her mom's arms. Octavian knelt down between them and wrapped his arms around both of them, kissing Luke's temple in a sweet way, making Percy smile as he watched the little family. Luke was the best thing that had ever happened to Octavian and Danny was the best that ever happened to the couple.

"You had plans today, didn't you?", chimed Percy in, looking at Octavian. "What plans?"

"We're gonna go to the city!", declared Danny, eyes wide and sparkling. "Auntie Rachel promised she'd order me all the Harry Potter books! All of them!"

Rachel was a mortal living in a city on the other side of the forest's borders. Octavian and Annabeth both often went to her bookstore to buy and order books. Danny too had taken a liking to it. The little girl looked so happy and content as she had her cheek plastered against Luke's chest, with Octavian caressing her hair proudly. He was very proud that his little girl was rather chasing adventures in books than real life adventures with the rascals.

"Mommy", hummed Bianca Maria, nudging Percy. "Can we go home? I want family cuddles too. And I want you to read a story to me too. But not witches, please. Dragons."

"But your brother is over playing with Sander and your dad has meetings", argued Percy.

"Is okay. Then you just have to cuddle me until they come", declared Bianca Maria.

"As you wish, my princess", laughed Percy amused, gathering her up in his arms.

He waved Luke off, watching how Luke was pulled away by Danny and Octavian.

/break\

By the time Nico returned from a very exhausting meeting with a herd that was passing through his territory and did the regular 'So pleased to meet you, my king. Thank you for your generosity' routine. Having to spend that afternoon with Annabeth on top of that made it all the more draining. It didn't particularly help that he had Donny on his shoulders right now, babbling on and on about how awesome Sander was and how much he was looking forward to tomorrow's game. He adored Donny and loved to hear about how happy his son was, but he was already exhausted as it was and all he truly wanted was some calm and peace and maybe to lay down with his legs up.

"...You alright up there? You've gotten awfully quiet?", asked Nico suspiciously.

The weight seemed to lay on his head now and there was soft snoring. Snorting amused, Nico adjusted the little fawn to hold him in his arms instead. Donny instantly snuggled up to Nico's chest. The king headed over to Donny's bedroom to tug him in, just to be stopped on his way.

"Nico! You're home", called Percy out from their bedroom.

When Nico turned toward said room, he found Percy and Bianca Maria curled together under the fluffy blanket, watching television together. Bambi, by the looks of it. Seeing that made Nico smile wryly. Changing course, Nico carried Donny over to place him next to Bianca Maria on the bed just before crawling in himself. The little ones were left stuck between their parents, Bianca Maria grinning as she kissed her little brother's forehead sloppily.

"He has no energy", complained Bianca Maria and wiggled her nose displeased.

Percy laughed as he leaned over their kids to steal a kiss from his mate. "How was your day, love?"

"Exhausting", replied Nico with a heavy sigh before snuggling in more comfortably and pulling all three closer to himself. "But it just got decidedly much better, my queen. Rather perfect, actually."

Percy hummed pleased at that answer, resting his head on Nico's chest. A perfect day indeed.

 _~*~ The End ~*~_


End file.
